GOe – Gastronomy Open Ecosystem | BAT Bilbao Architecture Team

Courtesy of Basque Culinary Center

GOe – Gastronomy Open Ecosystem

• Architects

GOe acts as a catalyst for companies, entrepreneurs, and multidisciplinary talent, establishing itself as a global benchmark in the world of gastronomy, a place to imagine, develop, and taste the food of the future.

GOe (Gastronomy Open Ecosystem) has officially opened its doors in Donostia–San Sebastián. Conceived by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and developed in collaboration with the Basque studio BAT (Bilbao Architecture Team), this 9,000 m² building, promoted by the BCC (Basque Culinary Center), becomes a new international landmark where architecture, gastronomy, and innovation intertwine to imagine the future of food.

Nestled between the sea and the mountains, at the base of Mount Ulia and near Zurriola Beach, GOe takes advantage of the 10-meter slope of the terrain to extend toward the sea through a walkable green roof, creating a building that is both an architectural icon and a public square. The project, titled “Camino de las Olas” (“Path of the Waves”), directly connects to the Camino de Santiago and the Cantabrian Sea.

photo_credit Courtesy of Basque Culinary Center — Courtesy of Basque Culinary Center

A Collaborative Process to Design an Innovative Ecosystem

The GOe project began with a tailored collaborative process, led by BAT Architecture together with the Basque Culinary Center, involving professors, researchers, institutional leaders, and sector experts through a methodology based on design thinking.

From the earliest phases, BAT led a comprehensive research and analysis process of the project’s context to define strategic lines, identify needs, and translate them into specific spatial solutions. This approach gave rise to an urban ecosystem where education, research, and innovation coexist within a single space dedicated to developing, promoting, and disseminating gastronomy.

Companies, entrepreneurs, students, researchers, and institutions all form part of GOe’s multidisciplinary identity. This global network of agents will be able to develop their own initiatives within the physical center thanks to the shared infrastructures that GOe provides.

The project team, composed of experts from BCC, BIG, and BAT, worked toward a common goal: finding innovative solutions to generate new value across the entire gastronomic chain. This collaboration between international teams made it possible to conceptualize a space that fosters interaction, creation, and knowledge exchange, shaping an architectural prototype of the future.

An Architectural Wave Connecting the City, the Sea, and Gastronomy

Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG, was selected after winning the international competition launched by the Basque Culinary Center in 2021. BIG led the conceptual design as Design Architects, while BAT undertook the technical development and executive management of the works as Executive Architects, in collaboration with construction company Amenabar.

The works, which began in November 2023, were completed in a record time of two years, giving shape to a building that combines technical precision, sustainability, and a profound connection with San Sebastián’s natural and urban landscape. Its design translates the strength of Donostia’s landscape into fluid architecture: a building that emerges from the terrain, featuring a public plinth, green terraces, and a monumental staircase connecting inside and out. The glass façade blurs boundaries between interior and exterior, while the stepped green roof evokes the flysch formations characteristic of the Basque coastline.

Designed to adapt to changing programs, the building includes experimental kitchens, laboratories, classrooms, and coworking areas that can be reconfigured thanks to raised flooring systems and porous ceilings. Its ventilated façade and green roof optimize thermal comfort and reduce the carbon footprint, while visual transparency invites the city to participate in this gastronomic ecosystem.

At its core, the Gastro Hall unites research, training, and entrepreneurial programs, inviting citizens to discover the creative processes shaping the future of gastronomy.

A Milestone in BAT Architecture’s Trajectory

The completion of GOe marks another milestone in BAT Architecture’s decade-long trajectory. Inaugurated on October 20 in San Sebastián, in collaboration with BIG Builds and the Basque Culinary Center, the project also includes educational and innovation spaces, reaffirming BAT’s international vocation to design environments that inspire learning and creativity.

Recent projects such as IES Muskiz (2025) or the Brewster American School in Madrid (2023) reflect BAT’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, design quality, and solutions adapted to new pedagogies, with GOe becoming the firm’s eleventh educational project.